FFA Cup preview: Hume City v Sydney Olympic

Aidan Ormond @AidotheFFAEd 1440989345,1512102971

Two ambitious PS4 NPL clubs, two evenly matched sides, this has the hallmarks of a Westfield FFA Cup classic at a packed ABD Stadium in Melbourne.

Hume City v Sydney Olympic

Tuesday, 1 September 2015

ABD Stadium, Meadow Heights (VIC)

Kick-off: 7:30pm local (7:30pm AEST)

Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis

Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Brown

Fourth Official: Brad Hobson

AAR 1: Lucien Laverdure

AAR 2: Shaun Evans

Tickets: Click here for ticketing details

Radio Broadcast: 3XY Radio (1422AM)

Online Broadcast: Streamed online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #HCIvSOL

Hume City squad: 1.Chris OLDFIELD (gk), 3.Shaun TIMMINS, 4.Isyan ERDOGAN, 5.Peter FRANJIC, 7.Jai INGHAM, 8.Theodore MARKELIS, 10.Joseph FRANJIC, 11.Ivan PAVLAK, 12.Daniel CLARK, 13.Shane REXHEPI, 15.Liam NEWMAN, 16.Matthew HENNESSEY, 17.Marcus SCHROEN, 19.Sammy BENINATO, 20.Tom BANFIELD (gk), 21.Nikos JACKSON, 23.Josh MARKOVSKI, 25.Sam CHAABANI, 34.Jordan FAHIM, 37.Jonas MARKOVSKI, 38.Danny FEDERICO, 39.Nicholas HEGARTY

Sydney Olympic squad: 1.Paul HENDERSON (gk), 2.Brayden SORGE, 3.Troy DANASKOS, 4.Brendan HOOPER, 5.Yianni SPYRAKIS, 6.Ryan KEIR, 8.Jason MADONIS, 9.Dimitri HATZIMOURATIS, 10.Harris GAITATZIS, 11.Scott BALDERSON, 12.Daniel SADAKA (gk), 14.Peter MARKOVIC, 15.Leigh EGGER, 18.Taiga SOEDA, 19.Go SHIRAI, 22.Michael GAITATZIS, 60.Tolgay OZBEY

**Please note the draw for the Westfield FFA Cup Quarter Finals will be conducted tomorrow night on FOX SPORTS (Channel 503) after the regulation time of the four matches.**

Michael Gaitatzis scored the winner for Sydney Olympic.

BLUFFER’S GUIDE

For Olympic, they’ve been battling glory on two fronts. But on the weekend, they lost their NPL NSW minor semi-final to Sydney Tigers 1-0.

Now, they must forget that reversal as they fly off to Melbourne as the FFA Cup takes centre stage.

And with the experience of winning away on a freezing night in Canberra in the FFA Cup Round of 32 still fresh in their memory, they’ll fancy their chances of ruining the party at the ABD.

Needless to say, Hume are in a happy place right now. The FFA Cup is supercharging interest in the northern Melbourne club and they are very much revelling in the extra attention.

More importantly, on the pitch they are proving to be a tough unit, full of vigour and passion after an epic 4-3 win over Brisbane Strikers in the Round of 32 FFA Cup. And on Friday night, a stirring shootout win in the NPL finals series (which saw keeper Chris Oldfield save a staggering four pens!) was the ideal boost going into such an important game.

It’s hard to separate these two sides in a clash that go beyond 90 minutes in front of what should be a packed stadium in Meadow Heights.

WHAT THEY SAY

Shane Rexhepie (Hume City defender)

“The boys love it. We don’t get these opportunities every day. We just want to keep progressing and hopefully be the first NPL club to win the FFA Cup.”

Grant Lee (Sydney Olympic coach)

“If we get a decent bit of recovery, and the right opponent, we might go a little further [in the Cup]. I hope so… it’d be nice for the club. We’ve had a bit of a bad patch in the middle of the season, more mental than physical, and over the last six weeks we’ve got over it and built up very nicely.”